Anyone who has shopped at a supermarket or department store has been confronted with the situation in which the cashier at the checkout area is unable to determine the price of an item to be purchased. The cashier is then required to page a clerk or manager from the department in the store from which the item originated, requesting the presence of that individual at the checkout station. Occasionally, the clerk or manager, upon reaching the checkout station and seeing the product, is able to advise the cashier as to the price. However, the problem becomes aggravated on occasion when the clerk or manager does not know the price, but must return to his department to make that determination. The individual must then again return to the checkout counter to apprise the cashier of the price. In the most automated of stores, once the clerk or manager has returned to his department to determine the price, he may use an intercom, paging system, or telephone to advise the cashier of the same.
In any of the events described above, there is a significant cost of time, money, and customer aggravation over the process. Such a process is inefficient, requiring the employment of additional personnel, increasing the overhead of the retail facility. More importantly, however, such process is time consuming and aggravating to the customer who, experiencing this on several occasions, may determine not to shop at the store.
It is apparent that there is a need in retail establishments for a more automated means for making "price checks" at the cashier or checkout station. Such a system is necessary for the benefit of both the retailer and the consumer.